Observations on articles I read to keep current about technology. My interests are: Privacy, security, business, the computer industry, and geeky stuff that catches my eye.

I don't think I have an agenda beyond my own amusement.

Note that I lump all my comments into a single post. This is not a typical BLOG technique, It's just an indication that I'm lazy.

Friday, April 06, 2018

It’s time once again for
the Privacy Foundation at University of Denver Sturm College of Law
to have its spring seminar! It will be taking place April
20th,
from 10:00am-1:00pm (with lunch to follow) at the Ricketson Law
Building. The topic is: Workplace
Privacy and Bring Your Own Device.
… This Workplace
Privacy Seminar will focus on the major privacy issues in the
workplace: (1) the legal and technical concerns surrounding employee
BYOD policies, i.e., employee access to other employee privacy data
and employee use of non-work employee information found on social
media via employees’ own smart phones and note books; (2) the
“metes and bounds” of employee monitoring, i.e., verbal, written,
and electronic communications while working and after hours; and (3)
geographic tracking of employees, onsite and after hours.

This is a bit more complicated than normal.
https://krebsonsecurity.com/2018/04/secret-service-warns-of-chip-card-scheme/Secret Service Warns of
Chip Card Scheme
The U.S. Secret Service
is warning financial institutions about a new scam involving the
temporary theft of chip-based debit cards issued to large
corporations. In this scheme, the fraudsters intercept
new debit cards in the mail and replace
the chips on the cards with chips from old cards. When
the unsuspecting business receives and activates the modified card,
thieves can start draining funds from the account.
… The reason the crooks don’t just use the debit cards when
intercepting them via the mail is that they need the cards to be
activated first, and presumably they lack the privileged information
needed to do that. So, they change out the chip and send the card on
to the legitimate account holder and then wait for it to be
activated.
The Secret Service memo doesn’t specify at what point in the
mail process the crooks are intercepting the cards. It could well
involve U.S. Postal Service
employees (or another delivery service), or perhaps the thieves are
somehow gaining access to company mailboxes directly.

Dozens of people have been able to access the medical
files of a television reality show star who tried to commit suicide,
according to television current affairs show EenVandaag.

Samantha de Jong, better known as Barbie, was admitted to
hospital in January after trying to kill herself. She had hardly
been off the tv since she took part in reality soap Oh Oh Cherso,
about a group of Dutch youngsters on Crete, in 2010.

The hospital has confirmed it is investigating the
security breach. EenVandaag said routine checks revealed that
‘dozens’ of members of staff had accessed her files, even though
they were not involved in her treatment.

Do they not have “break the glass” procedures or other
controls there? Have they not been firm enough about firing
snoopers? Why did this happen and happen so extensively?
I have noted snooping in celebrities’ medical files in too many
cases over the years. There are some technological solutions that
can help as well as other strategies. Maybe the Dutch hospitals
should invite my sponsors from Protenus, Inc. over there to show them
how they can prevent this kind of thing in the future? If this is
what is holding up progress in creating a digital EMR system, then
they really really need to deal with this already.
Read more at DutchNews.nl.

No rush?
https://globalnews.ca/news/4122202/data-breach-canada-privacy-commissioner/Companies will now have to
tell Canadian consumers when their privacy is breached — and do it
quickly
… The Digital
Privacy Act became law in August 2015, but several of its
provisions were not immediately implemented and have languished on
the books pending official authorizations needed to bring them into
force.
… Under the new rules, organizations must notify consumers “as
soon as feasible after an organization determines that a breach has
occurred.”

The problem with “Ready, Fire, Aim” Don’t worry, we’ll
figure something out.
https://taskandpurpose.com/northcom-trump-troops-mexico-border/NORTHCOM Caught Off Guard
As Trump Orders Troops To US-Mexico Border
After what insiders say was a surprise
announcement by President Donald Trump on Tuesday, the Colorado
Springs command that could send U.S. troops to the Mexican
border was waiting for guidance.
… “We are standing by for guidance,” a spokeswoman said.
Other sources said the command, led by Air Force Gen. Lori
Robinson, didn’t have notice of the presidential directive.

Is this what started talks of a summit?
http://www.businessinsider.com/north-korea-could-nuke-us-as-early-as-july-23-2018-says-british-mod-2018-4North Korea could nuke the
US as early as July 23, according to Britain's Ministry of Defense
… Lord Howe, a British defense minister, told parliament's
Defense Committee that the Defense Ministry thought North Korea would
be fully nuclear-capable within "six to 18 months."
The statements, made at a January 23 hearing, were published
Thursday in a committee report on North Korea's nuclear ambitions.
The earliest possible date for a strike in Howe's time frame is July
23; the far estimate is the same date in 2019.

Because you never have enough to read?
https://www.bespacific.com/magazine-rack-the-internet-archives-collection-of-34000-digitized-magazines/Magazine Rack – the
Internet Archive’s Collection of 34,000 Digitized MagazinesOpen
Culture: “Before we kept up with culture through the internet,
we kept up with culture through magazines. That historical fact may
at first strike those of us over 30 as trivial and those half a
generation down as irrelevant, but now, thanks to the Internet
Archive, we can all easily experience the depth and breadth of the
magazine era as something more than an abstraction or an increasingly
distant memory. In keeping with their apparent mission to become the
predominant archive of pre-internet media, they’ve set up the
Magazine Rack, a downloadable collection of over 34,000 digitized
magazines and other monthly publications…”

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About Me

I live in Centennial Colorado. (I'm not actually 100 years old., but I hope to be some day.) I'm an independant computer consultant, specializing in solving problems that traditional IT personnel tend to have difficulty with... That includes everything from inventorying hardware & software, to converting systems & data, to training end-users. I particularly enjoy taking on projects that IT has attempted several times before with no success. I also teach at two local Universities: everything from Introduction to Microcomputers through Business Continuity and Security Management. My background includes IT Audit, Computer Security, and a variety of unique IT projects.